Tholos Volume 17

FEATURE

Architect of the

Capitol: Organizational 

Transformation in 

Service of One Another

YEAR IN

REVIEW

2020
2 

4 8

6

YEAR IN REVIEW: 2020 A LOOK BACK: JOHN ADAMS’ 

CARRIAGE RIDE TO WASHINGTON, 

D.C., IN 1800

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TABLE OF

CONTENTS
THOLOS | VOLUME 17 3

14 FEATURE: ARCHITECT OF THE 

CAPITOL: ORGANIZATIONAL 

TRANSFORMATION IN SERVICE 

OF ONE ANOTHER 

SPOTLIGHT ON SAFETY: NEW 

PESTICIDE RECERTIFICATION 

PROGRAM

14 24

14 24

TABLE OF

CONTENTS
THOLOS | VOLUME 17 4

YEAR IN REVIEW

2020 was a year like no other. Despite the 

many challenges and impacts created by 

the COVID-19 pandemic, Architect of the 

Capitol staff continually went above and 

beyond to ensure we never failed in 

meeting our mission. 

Here is a look back at the unprecedented 

year and your many contributions. Thank 

you for your enduring commitment to 

Serve, Preserve and Inspire.

P H OTO S BY 

AOC PHOTOGRAPHY BRANCH

2020
YEAR IN REVIEW THOLOS | VOLUME 17 5
6 HEADER
THOLOS | VOLUME 17 7

JOHN ADAMS’ CARRIAGE RIDE TO 

WASHINGTON, D.C., IN 1800 

A LOOK BACK

WRITTEN BY FRANKLIN BRADLEY

HISTORICAL PHOTOS PROVIDED BY AOC PHOTOGRAPHY BRANCH

President John Adams issued a letter to all federal 

agencies on May 15, 1800, directing the “removal of 

the public offices, clerks and papers” from the capital 

city of Philadelphia. In that single sentence, Adams 

started the final move of the U.S. government to its 

permanent home, the newly created city of 

Washington, in the District of Columbia.

To ensure he arrived in Washington before the 

deadline he had set for public offices to “be opened 

in the City of Washington for the dispatch of business 

by the fifteenth of June,” Adams left Philadelphia on 

May 27, traveling by carriage with his personal 

secretary. Though his wife, Abigail, would take the 

more direct route through Baltimore, those roads 

were considered to be more difficult to travel. 
8 A LOOK BACK

Adams chose the western route across Pennsylvania 

before turning back through Maryland. The roads on 

his route were better than those the First Lady traveled, 

but the additional miles extended his trip to eight days.

He would enter Washington on its western edge, in 

Georgetown. Upon hearing of Adams’ planned arrival, 

prominent residents of Georgetown met and unanimously resolved, “That an address on the part of this 

town be presented to the President of the United States 

upon his arrival here.”

In fact, the President was celebrated all along his route, 

which might have made his journey less tedious. He 

was escorted by the cavalry both when he arrived in 

and departed York, Pennsylvania, which also marked 

the occasion with the ringing of church bells. Residents 

of these rural areas considered any visit by the President 

a great honor, and Adams stayed in many towns and 

attended church services along the way.

Adams likely hoped that these constituents remembered his visits fondly because 1800 was an election 

year, and he was in a fierce fight against Vice President 

Thomas Jefferson.

Without mass media or easy travel available to the 

candidates, the presidential contest was largely carried 

out in partisan newspapers. That made the necessary 

trip from Philadelphia to Washington an opportunity 

for Adams that wasn’t available to his opponent. The 

editor of one paper that supported Jefferson cast 

aspersions on Adams’ route, asking, “Why must the 

President go fifty miles out of his way to make a trip

to Washington?” 

Despite his longer route, Adams arrived almost two 

weeks ahead of the June 15 deadline he had set for 

federal agencies to open in the new capital. As planned, 

he was greeted with a public address by the citizens of 

Georgetown that reads, in part, “In every situation to 

which you have been called by the public voice, we 

recognize with delight your unvarying devotion to the 

public good conspicuously manifested in your discharge of the duties of the high station you now fill.”

Adams’ reply the next day congratulated them “on the 

translation of the Government to the city so near you.” 

While agencies would open for business shortly, the 

President himself would have to live and conduct his 

business in a boarding house for five more months 

before his residence was ready that November.

That was the same month that Congress was able to 

meet in the U.S. Capitol Building for the first time, even 

John Adams’ portrait while President
THOLOS | VOLUME 17 9

though some rooms were still unfinished. Construction 

of the U.S. Capitol was a laborious and time-consuming 

process: building sandstone had to be quarried by hand 

in Virginia, then ferried to the relative wilderness of 

Capitol Hill. In 1799 alone, 20 tons of plaster from Paris 

had been boiled in vats and troweled onto 10,000 

square yards of walls and ceilings, bound to 240,000 feet 

of wooden lath with 1,000 bushels of hair.

Even that effort wasn’t enough to finish the interiors, 

and accommodations were made to ensure Congress 

could occupy the building on schedule. Wooden 

staircases would temporarily serve in lieu of the grand 

marble staircases intended for the building. Senate 

Chamber columns that would eventually be stone were 

wooden shafts skimmed with plaster. The hearths of the 

fireplaces that would heat the rooms were laid with 

three pieces of sandstone, which could be reused to 

pave the new city’s footpaths when marble hearths and 

mantles were later available.

“The original interior ... was simple and straightforward, 

lacking the elaborate materials and designs that were 

beyond the city’s means,” observed former Architect of 

the Capitol Historian William Allen. These conditions and 

the continued presence of workers weren’t likely to 

bother Adams, who had written to his wife, “Let frugality 

and industry be our virtues.”

Georgetown view in 1801
A LOOK BACK

On November 22, 1800, President Adams made the trip from his 

new residence, which was then called the President’s House, to 

the U.S. Capitol at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, the only 

paved road in Washington at the time. He addressed a joint 

session of Congress whose members were crowded into the new 

Senate Chamber, with spectators filling the gallery on the floor 

above. Jefferson was en route to Washington when Adams spoke 

allowing the incumbent to avoid an awkward encounter with his 

opponent who would have presided over the Senate.

Standing near his opponent’s empty chair to speak, Adams gave 

credit to the people for the successful move while acknowledging 

the work to be done. “I congratulate the people of the United 

States on the assembling of Congress at the permanent seat of 

their Government, and I congratulate you, gentlemen, on the 

prospect of a residence not to be changed. Although there is 

cause to apprehend that accommodations are not now so complete as might be wished, yet there is great reason to believe that 

this inconvenience will cease with the present session.”

Although construction on the U.S. Capitol continued beyond that 

session, Adams’ residence in Washington would end the next year, 

when Jefferson was inaugurated as the next President. The U.S. 

Capitol was where the hotly contested election was finally 

decided by the U.S. House of Representatives in 36 ballots over six 

days. Jefferson was then the first President inaugurated at the U.S. 

Capitol in the same Senate Chamber where Adams had welcomed 

Congress a few months earlier.

Adams wasn’t there to witness the proceedings, however, having 

already left Washington for his home in Massachusetts. For this 

trip, Adams took the shorter route north.

1. Philadelphia 2. Downingtown 3. Lancaster 4. York 5. Frederick 6. Rockville 7. Georgetown Final Destination: Washington D.C. 

 “LET FRUGALITY AND 

INDUSTRY BE OUR VIRTUES.” John Adams’ 

Carriage Ride to 

Washington

THOLOS | VOLUME 17 10
RESPECT

INTEGRITY

SAFETY

EMPOWER

RESPECT | We treat one another with civility and kindness, so that we honor the value and 

dignity of all people. INTEGRITY | We demonstrate honesty, ethics and reliability, so that 

we earn trust and do what is right. SAFETY | We are governed by the foundation of safety 

always, so that we can feel safe, make safe and be safe. EMPOWER | We are one team 

seeking better ways to do our work, so that we all contribute to the success of the AOC.
THOLOS | VOLUME 17 12

ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL: 

ORGANIZATIONAL TRANSFORMATION 

IN SERVICE OF ONE ANOTHER

W R I T T E N BY D R . G A N E L L A S M I T H , 

ORGANIZATIONAL TRANSFORMATION PROJECT MANAGER

FEATURE

Change seems to be a common theme over the past year. Change 

that requires us to wear masks when running errands, transforms 

our homes into schools and has us socially distanced when what 

we need, now more than ever, is to connect with family and 

friends. COVID-19 has touched each of us in a different way, yet 

through all this change, the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) has 

continued to serve Congress and the Supreme Court. The AOC is 

committed to building an agency that supports our people and 

prepares us for a better and brighter future. With that said, this 

month we have started our organizational transformation journey. 
13 FEATURE

YOU MAY BE ASKING, WHAT IS THAT? WELL, SIMPLY PUT 

— IT IS WHAT AN AGENCY DOES TO CHANGE HOW WE 

TREAT ONE ANOTHER IN THE WORKPLACE SO THAT 

TOGETHER WE CAN RISE UP TO THE AGENCY’S VALUES. 

Organizational transformation is possible when we at the AOC have shared workplace values that influence the choices 

we make and the actions we take to do our work to meet our mission. These changes will build an AOC that operates 

more transparently and efficiently. Through our efforts, it is most important that we appropriately empower every AOC 

employee and help each employee thrive within the new structure. 

Recently, AOC leadership identified key initiatives, which are opportunities for change that are important to the 

agency’s long-term success. These are referred to as “Big Rocks.” The Big Rocks are the AOC’s priorities. By 

addressing these, we can build a safer, more inclusive, more effective AOC — a place where we all want to work.

In all, there are seven Big Rocks intended to improve the work experience at the AOC.

We treat one another with civility and kindness, so that RESPECT we honor the value and dignity of all people.

We demonstrate honesty, ethics and reliability,, INTEGRITY so that we earn trust and do what is right..

We are one team seeking better ways to do our work, so EMPOWER that we all contribute to the success of the AOC.

We are governed by the foundation of safety always, so SAFETY that we can feel safe, make safe and be safe..
We treat one 

another with 

civility and 

kindness, so 

that we 

honor the 

value and 

dignity of all 

people.

RESPECT
15 FEATURE

HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY: 

ATTRACTING AND INCENTIVIZING

THE BEST WORKFORCE 

The AOC is responsible for some of the most iconic 

buildings and grounds in the world. Our workforce 

takes care of our country’s legacy, and we need to 

take care of our workforce. We will recruit and welcome team members who have the skills to make 

us successful, and we will ensure our current team 

members have the tools they require and the recognition they deserve to advance and grow with the AOC.

AOC UNIVERSITY: TRAINING FOR 

THE FUTURE

Once we hire the right people for the job, we want 

them to thrive at the AOC. Training and development 

will be ongoing so our employees learn the skills that 

will prepare them to advance in the agency. Training 

and development will align with the AOC’s mission, 

and there will be a focus on employee development 

to support career mapping and growth in the agency. 

We are investing in our people for the future success 

of the AOC.

ENTERPRISE ASSET MANAGEMENT 

(EAM): EQUIPPING OUR STAFF WITH 

THE TOOLS THEY REQUIRE

Training will only take us so far and our people will 

need the right tools to get the job done. As the AOC 

evolves, so will its IT system needs. Currently, assets 

are managed by multiple parties using different 

systems. To manage our physical assets, we will use 

EAM across the AOC to track maintenance, mitigate 

out-of-date technology, restore reliability, reduce 

long-term costs, and provide a system to forecast 

resource needs and requirements.

1

2

3

RECENTLY, AOC 

LEADERSHIP IDENTIFIED 

KEY INITIATIVES WHICH 

ARE OPPORTUNITIES 

FOR CHANGE THAT ARE 

IMPORTANT TO THE 

AGENCY’S LONG-TERM 

SUCCESS. THESE ARE 

REFERRED TO AS “BIG 

ROCKS.” THE BIG ROCKS 

ARE THE AOC’S 

PRIORITIES. BY 

ADDRESSING THESE, 

WE CAN BUILD A 

SAFER, MORE 

INCLUSIVE, MORE 

EFFECTIVE AOC — A 

PLACE WHERE WE 

ALL WANT TO WORK.
INTEGRITYWe 

demonstrate 

honesty, 

ethics and 

reliability, 

so that we 

earn trust 

and do what 

is right.
17 FEATURE

BUILDING OFFICIAL: KEEPING OUR STAFF AND CUSTOMERS SAFE

We have a responsibility to provide a safe environment for ourselves and for everyone who works on or 

visits the Capitol campus. Our facilities and grounds host people from around the world; this should be a 

safe place. To do this, the AOC will establish a Building Official program to minimize and manage risk. 

This will improve how we oversee safety and code compliance to keep our iconic buildings maintained 

for future generations.

VISION 2100 MASTER AND STRATEGIC PLANS: LEAVING OUR LEGACY

Continuing a tradition of safety at the AOC will be important as we look ahead. We are building the 

future of the AOC for generations to come and the work we do here will endure long after we’re gone. 

The Capitol campus is one of our country’s most important national sites; we have an obligation to 

maintain its legacy. Vision 2100 will serve as the “North Star” guiding our long-term vision for the Capitol 

campus and setting the direction for how we accommodate Congress, the Supreme Court and the 

Library of Congress for the long term. We have an opportunity to make sure the work and planning we 

do today has a lasting impact for future generations.

REORGANIZATION: BUILDING A STRUCTURE TO SUPPORT OUR PEOPLE AND MISSION

To make these Big Rocks work, we need a structure that supports these initiatives by opening up 

communications between leaders and staff and removing barriers that get in the way. This will allow for 

better coordination and adjustment when we need to head off issues. 

CULTURAL BEHAVIORS TRANSFORMATION: CREATING THE ENVIRONMENT WE WANT

Of all the Big Rocks, this one is most dependent on the people of the AOC. While values like respect can 

be declared by AOC leadership, how our values show up day-to-day depends on everyone in the 

organization. How we live out our values is demonstrated in how we treat our co-workers and customers. If we’re not invested in creating a better work environment for one another, then we will fail 

ourselves and our mission. Together we can make the AOC a great place to work. 

4

5

6

7
18 HEADER 18 FEATURE
19 FEATURE

You may be wondering how we will do this and as the organization transformation lead, I can assure you we will be 

working throughout the AOC to coordinate the leadership support, tools and updates needed to help our people 

get involved and stay informed. Change is not easy, but it is necessary to fulfil our AOC mission to serve Congress 

and the Supreme Court, preserve America’s Capitol and inspire memorable experiences. As General Norman 

Schwarzkopf Jr. once said:

“THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS YOU ALWAYS KNOW THE 

RIGHT THING TO DO. THE HARD PART IS DOING IT.”

Each of us at the AOC knows there are things that need to change to create the best possible workplace for all of us. 

It is our responsibility to enlist in the change together so when all is said and done we can take pride in an AOC that 

reflects our values. As we move through the next months, I hope to hear and share stories about how you are 

experiencing the positive changes that have grown from this transformation. It is a pleasure and an honor to serve 

with you all each and every day.
20 HEADER

We are one 

team seeking 

better ways to 

do our work, so 

that we all 

contribute to 

the success of 

the AOC.

EMPOWER
21 HEADER
THOLOS | VOLUME 17 22

NEW PESTICIDE 

RECERTIFICATION PROGRAM

SPOTLIGHT ON SAFE T Y 

WRIT TEN BY KATE HOLDER

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KALEENA DWYER

One of the most important credentials for Architect 

of the Capitol (AOC) gardeners to obtain and 

maintain, is pesticide applicator licensing. It’s a 

certification that advances the AOC’s core value of 

safety in multiple ways. 

Certified AOC gardeners keep themselves safe by 

using proper pesticide application techniques; other 

workers and visitors to the Capitol campus stay safe 

thanks to the gardeners’ sound applications; and, 

ultimately, the environment is safeguarded by AOC 

pesticide applications that increasingly emphasize 

integrated pest management (IPM). IPM is a holistic 

approach that promotes the most environmentally 

friendly solutions to pest issues whenever possible.
23 

“Many of our AOC gardeners are required to 

maintain their pesticide applicator certification 

from the D.C. Department of Energy and 

Environment,” said Jim Kaufmann, Director of 

the AOC’s Capitol Grounds and Arboretum. In a 

normal year, the approach to certification and 

recertification was, respectively, to study for and 

take the certification exam on site at the D.C. 

Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE), 

and maintain recertification annually by attending full-day continuous education trainings at 

various locations in the Washington, D.C., 

metropolitan area.

However, 2020 was no normal year.

After the COVID-19 outbreak in March, the DOEE 

suspended on-site administration of the certification exam; the regional recertification 

trainings were also canceled. Meanwhile, AOC 

workforce schedules throughout the agency were 

radically altered — including rotating smaller shifts 

of on-site employees and sending 

many home to telework for 

the foreseeable future. 

“WE TRANSITIONED OUR 

GARDENING STAFF TO 

ON-SITE CREWS AT 50 

PERCENT CAPACITY DOING 

A WEEK-ON-WEEK-OFF KIND 

OF ROTATION,” SAID 

KAUFMANN. “IT WAS 

STRESSFUL BUT IT ALLOWED 

US TO ACCOMPLISH OUR 

MISSION CRITICAL WORK 

AND MUCH MORE DESPITE 

THE CHALLENGES.”
 24

“We transitioned our gardening staff to on-site crews at 

50 percent capacity doing a week-on-week-off kind of 

rotation,” said Kaufmann. “It was stressful but it allowed 

us to accomplish our mission critical work and much 

more despite the challenges.”

To be sure, AOC gardeners still had landscapes to 

maintain during the pandemic as well as recertifications 

to complete. Recertifications during the pandemic 

required a new approach. A former Capitol Grounds and 

Arboretum Plant Health Specialist working with the 

DOEE and the AOC’s Human Capital Management 

Division, Training and Employee Development (TED) 

Branch developed a streamlined online training that 

served as both a pesticide recertification training and as 

preparation for the certification exam.

The training, which begins with the 55-minute introductory course, includes several additional courses and is 

offered on AOC Learn, the agency’s learning management system. The course was approved by the DOEE 

and launched in October 2020. 

Over two dozen AOC gardeners have taken the training 

from Capitol Grounds and Arboretum, Library Buildings 

and Grounds, Supreme Court Building and Grounds, and 

the U.S. Botanic Garden. Furthermore, for the first time, 

DOEE representatives came to the Capitol campus to 

administer and proxy the certification exam for new 

AOC gardeners. The exam took place in a large room in 

the Hart Senate Office Building where everyone could 

safely social distance.

“The course was well received and definitely helped our 

newer staff members prepare for the certification 

exam,” said Katie Serock, a Gardener Supervisor for 

Capitol Grounds and Arboretum who took the training 

for her recertification. “Achieving and maintaining the 

pesticide applicator credential is also required in order 

to advance in our field, so it’s an important step in our 

employees’ development to provide them more technical horticultural knowledge.” 

TED not only worked to get the new pesticide applicator 

training online in a few short weeks, the branch has also 

been working nonstop since the early days of the pandemic to convert as many of the AOC’s in-person employee 

development programs as possible to virtual learning.

“COVID-19 presented an opportunity that I didn’t know 

was a need for training until the pesticide courses,” said 

Betzabel (Bessy) Plaza, a Human Resource Specialist in 

TED. “Employees were suddenly teleworking and some 

were issued an agency iPad or iPhone for the first time, 

so I started converting all of our courses to being mobile 

friendly and the pesticide ones were among the first to 

offer that feature.”

The success of the AOC’s new pesticide applicator 

recertification program bodes well for employee 

training opportunities that offer more 

platforms and flexibility to support a 

changing workforce. “It’s a great 

use of the agency’s technology,” 

said Kaufmann, “and it also 

reflects the strong commitment to enhanced 

employee development 

that Architect of the 

Capitol Brett Blanton 

envisions for the AOC 

in the years to come.”
Legislative and Public Affairs

U.S. Capitol, Room SB-16

Washington, DC 20515

Tholos Winter 2021

The Architect of the Capitol strives 

to meet its mission 24 hours a day, 

365 days a year to serve Congress 

and the Supreme Court, preserve

America’s Capitol, and inspire 

memorable experiences for all who 

visit the buildings and grounds.

Tholos is distributed by the Architect 

of the Capitol primarily for AOC 

employees. Questions regarding 

content and publication should be 

directed to AOC Legislative and Public 

Affairs at communications@aoc.gov, 

202.228.1793, or U.S. Capitol, Room 

SB-16, Washington, DC 20515.

JOIN AOC ONLINE:

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YouTube.com/uscapitol

www.aoc.gov

FRONT COVER PHOTO BY:

KALEENA DWYER

BACK COVER PHOTO BY:

THOMAS HATZENBUHLER